The Bright Center of the Universe
by Araindil
Summary: Luke doesn't like the newcomer to Anchorhead, but the local beauty, Sciane does. Rivalries erupt, and Luke will have to learn to deal with his ego. Set on Tatooine, a few years before ANH. Call it AU, call it a bad fic, it's your choice. I'm just trying t


Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, nor am I affiliated with Lucasfilms in any way.

Summary: Luke doesn't like the newcomer to Anchorhead, but the local beauty, Sciane does. Rivalries erupt, and Luke will have to learn to deal with his ego. Set on Tatooine, a few years before ANH. Call it AU, call it a bad fic, it's your choice. I'm just trying to write the story here.

Not Beta'd. You have been warned.

* * *

**The Bright Center of the Universe**

by Araindil

**

* * *

**

The tremendous light radiating from Tatooine's twin suns beat down on an old orange speeder as it raced across the desert. Considering the old and beaten state the vehicle was in, the speed it was going at was amazing to say the least. A boy with sandy hair sat in the pilot's seat, trying to keep his face protected by the windshield while squinting into the haze rising from the sand. A dark-haired youth sat beside him, looking a tad nervous at the moment. He kept glancing around, and tapping his fingers on his knees.

The fair-haired boy glanced at his friend. "Hey, Biggs, go easy on the finger tapping, will you? It's not like you to be so nervous."

Biggs chose to ignore the remark. He didn't cease his nervous fidgeting. He glanced at the desert flying past them.

"Are you sure it's safe to let this thing go on full-throttle, Luke?" he asked.

"Aw, c'mon, Biggs, don't be such a spoil-sport. Remember who's the best pilot around these parts, eh?"

Biggs glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "That's your ego talking."

Luke grinned. "No, it's a fact and you know it."

"No way," his friend shot back. "You know I can fly a T-16 better than you."

"No you can't," Luke said defensively. "The last time you beat me in a race was only because my ship was all beaten up."

Biggs shrugged, his anxiety momentarily forgotten. "Make all the excuses you want; I can still fly a ship better than you."

"But can you shoot better than me?" Luke countered. "Can you blast a womp-rat at a hundred meters?"

Biggs considered the point for a moment, then he made a face. "No. Fine, so you're a better marksman than me."

"And I can drive a speeder better than you," Luke added cheerfully.

"Luke, that's a little pathetic," Biggs said, chuckling. "This old wreck can hardly be counted as a proper vehicle. I don't even know how you can get it to work. And that brings me back to the original point." He sobered. "Is this thing safe? Going at full-throttle?"

"Biggs, calm down," Luke said nonchalantly. "This speeder might look like a piece of junk, but it works. I promise it won't break down the way yours did."

"My speeder did not break down," Biggs said, but the defense was a weak one. "Okay, fine, so maybe a few wires came loose, but it's no big deal. I could've fixed it within a day."

"Uh-huh, and that's why I'm driving you to Anchorhead right now." Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Well, with your consantly wandering mind, I figured you needed someone to watch over you," Biggs said with a grin.

Luke laughed. "Touché. Alright, fine, we're even."

"Sounds good to me. Better to be on good terms with each other if we're going to be blown apart by your speeder." Bigg's tone was light, but he glanced with a nervous look at the speeder all the same. Luke shook his head at his friend's lack of faith.

"Look, I said this speeder is perfectly safe, and it is!"

At that moment, the vehicle in question chose to give in to a spasm of shaking that rattled Luke and Biggs, causing both of them to momentarily bounce out of their seats. Biggs clutched at the side of the speeder, looking around in agitation. The engine spluttered, ans Luke thought he heard something pop.

"You were saying?" Biggs asked in a strained tone. His friend didn't reply immediatly. Luke was staring at the hood of the vehicle, from where a thin stream of dark smoke was leaking past on the wind. Another -- more violent -- tremor in the speeder jolted the two boys again as a whining/grating sound came from the engine.

"That doesn't sound good," Luke said flatly.

"No," Biggs agreed. "That doesn't. And it looks like you made an empty promise when you said this thing won't break."

"Oh, it won't break. At least not in the conventional sense. It just might give up on us -- with very short notice."

"That's reassuring," Biggs muttered. The speeder rocked violently, and the engine spluttered. It was definitely about to die soon.

"We'll have to land," Luke said.

"Here? In the middle of the desert?" Biggs asked in shock. "Are you crazy?"

"The speeder's not going to last much longer. And Anchorhead isn't too far away, we'll walk there and get help, or something." Luke fiddled with the controls for a moment. He tried the brakes, and realized they weren't working. "Just hold tight, this might be a bumpy landing."

"Knowing you, it's going to be one heck of a crash," Biggs said dryly.

Luke matched his friend's tone. "Nice to know you have confidence in my abilities."

Any further banter between the two companions was cut off as the speeder declined rapidly, heading them toward a sand dune. Luke fiddled with the emergency power, but there was no reponse. No engine. No brakes. No help in sight.

He was going to have to crash-land this thing, relying on his instincts and luck alone. He gripped the steering wheel as the sand loomed closer. Tensing, he braced himself for the shock of impact while trying to pull the speeder to a parallel angle with the surface. Nothing happened. He couldn't control the vehicle at all.

"Blast it, you piece of junk!" Luke growled under his breath. It was bad enough they were landing in the desert, now if the speeder got stuck in the sand dune... Luke didn't want to think about his uncle's reaction.

But there was no more time for thoughts of the ominous future -- and Uncle Owen's reaction -- for the speeder was plunging into the sand dune, nose first. The jolt from impact shook up the vehicle even more, as a cloud of sand enveloped them. Luke shielded his face from the sand the best he could, coughing as some of the stuff got into his throat.

The sand settled down after several moments. Luke looked around. There was sand everywhere -- on the speeder, in the speeder, on his clothes, all over Biggs...

"Will you look at this mess..." Luke said to himself.

Biggs looked up from dusting sand off his shirt. "Hey, it was your idea to crash land it."

"As if I had another choice," Luke muttered. "Let's get out of here, we need to get to Anchorhead and find some help."

The two boys hopped out of the speeder, which wobbled slightly from its nearly perpendicular position in the sand. Biggs examined the speeder and shook his head.

"Is your uncle going to be mad," he said, unhelpfully in Luke's opinion.

"Let's just go, Biggs," Luke said, feeling extremely irritable.

Biggs caught the irritation in his friend's voice, and elected to keep the rest of his witty comments to himself. Together, the two friends climbed to the top of the sand dune to have a look around. There was a distinct sillouette of a settlement on the horizon, rippling in the heat waves rising from the desert. It looked to be about two miles away.

"There's Anchorhead," Luke said. "Now we just need to get there."

"On foot?" Biggs asked skeptically. "If the suns don't roast us, we could run across something nasty."

Luke just started down the dune. "C'mon, a little walking's not going to kill you. And there's no dangerous creatures at this time of day." He looked around and added in an undertone, "They're all smart enough to stay somewhere cooler."

Biggs trekked along after his friend, muttering to himself about the idiocies of walking like this. He continuously scanned the surrounding landscape, looking for any threats, and possibly some passing vehicle that could get them to Anchorhead fast than the rate at which they were walking. All things considered, it was probably lucky he was watching.

Biggs saw it first, and quickly called to Luke who was ahead by several paces.

Luke shielded his eyes and scanned the horizon. There was a yellow blob coming towards them, and as it grew larger, it became clear that it was a speeder.

"We're saved!" Biggs said, a bit too melodramatically. "Well, if we can get him to see us, that is." He promptly began waving and shouting. "Hey! Over here! Over here!"

At first, it seemed as though the speeder had not seen or heard them hailing. It swerved to the right, and glided along lazily. Luke and Biggs continued calling. Then the coming vehicle turned slowly, and gained speed as it came towards them.

Luke let his arms drop, feeling relieved. Biggs let out his breath in a long sigh.

"First bit of luck we've had all day!" Biggs exclaimed. "Eh, Luke?"

Luke was watching the speeder. "Man, look at how fast that thing's going!" he said, his voice tinged with awe and a hint of envy. "I wish I had a sweet ride like that."

The speeder pulled up sharply in front of them, bringing a breeze in its wake. The vehicle was a sweet ride, even if the color was a bit tacky. It was a straw yellow color, with bold lightning stripes of black painted along the sides and front. At first glance, it gave the impression of an oversized hornet.

The driver turned out to be a teenager who looked about the same age as Luke and Biggs. The stranger had black hair that was swept back stiffly, as though a perpetual wind was blowing against his face. He was dark-skinned, and wore a jacket made of some leathery stuff that glittered and shimmered in the light.

"Need a lift?" he asked. His voice was low, and had a rough edge to it.

"We just need to get to Anchorhead, over there," Luke said, pointing to the direction of the settlement.

The stranger looked at Luke as though examining him. Glancing at Biggs, he said, "Well, I suppose I could give you a ride. Hop in."

"Thanks!" Luke climbed into the seat beside the driver while Biggs sat in the seat behind them. As their dark-haired rescuer revved up the speeder, Luke said, "My name's Luke, by the way. Luke Skywalker."

The speeder began to move forward, gaining speed quickly. The driver glanced at Luke. "Nice to meet you guys, but m'afraid names don't mean much to me. I'm not from around these parts."

"Really?" Biggs sat up in his seat. Any visitors to this corner of Tatooine were readily welcomed, if not for news then just for the sense of novelty. "Where are you from?"

"Oh, here and there," the stranger said casually, driving with one hand and letting the other arm rest on the edge of the speeder. "I've travelled to a lot of places with my old man."

"Where have you been?" Luke asked eagerly. "Have you been to Coruscant?"

"Of course!" the stranger said, laughing. "Who hasn't?"

Luke and Biggs glanced at each other, a look that clearly conveyed their envy for the other boy.

"I've been star-hopping with the old man for the past few years," he continued, not seeming to notice the silence. "I can't even remember half the names of the systems we've been to. Then m'father just decides to come to this rock and settle down, saying the climate's nice." He shrugged. "I'll admit it's warm and bright here, but nothing much happens."

"You got that right," Luke said morosely. "This rock is where exactly _nothing _happens."

"Huh. Well, I guess something must happen sometimes," the stranger said. "What's your name again? Lucky, or something?"

"It's Luke."

"Oh, right. I'm Zeom, if you'd care to know. Zeom Be'edon. And who are you?" Zeom asked, turning to his other passenger.

"Biggs Darklighter, nice to meet you Zeom," Biggs said.

"Same," Zeom said non-commitally. He gazed at the approaching bulk of Anchorhead. "So, what's the name of this city we're approaching?"

"City?" Biggs scoffed the idea. "Hardly. Anchorhead is more of a settlement."

"Huh."

The conversation died down as the speeder quickly approached Anchorhead. About a minute later, they had reached the first buildings of the settlement and Luke was pointing out the directions to the Toshi Power Plant, where he knew the rest of his friends would be. Zeom brought the speeder to a stop before the designated building, and Luke and Biggs hopped out.

"Thanks for the ride, Zeom," Luke said.

"No problem, just hope the next time you get stranded there's someone to pick you up again."

Luke shrugged at the remark. "Well, maybe there won't be a next time. Things can change."

"Doesn't look like change is going to hit this place anytime soon," Zeom commented, looking around at Anchorhead. "Too bad I'm going to be stuck in this boring place."

"Come on, Luke, let's get going," Biggs muttered to his friend. He had taken a dislike to Zeom, and was trying to get away without making it seem too conspicous.

Luke nodded. They waved to Zeom, who nodded to them in acknowledgement. He didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon, instead he was sitting in his speeder, looking decidedly unhappy about the situation.

"Let's just leave the guy," Luke said to Biggs in an undertone. They turned to go.

"Luke? Biggs? Is that you?" A clear voice was calling down to them. Luke and Biggs looked up to see a girl standing at the top of the steps leading to the power plant. The bright sunlight glinted off her white-blonde hair, and her white tunic shone as she hurried down toward them.

"It's us," Biggs called out. "Where are Deak and Windy?"

"They're not here, both have work to do today -- for once." The girl had reached the bottom of the steps by now, and as she smiled her pale gray eyes brightened. Her unusually pale skin -- for a native of Tatooine -- often made her seem washed out, coupled with the light hair and pale eyes.

Now she glanced at Zeom, still sitting in his speeder. "Who's that?" she asked. "Did you guys come with him?"

Luke nodded. "Biggs and I were coming in my speeder, but it kind of broke down mid-way, so we got a ride from Zeom. He's new around here. That's him over there," he added, pointing to the guy in question. Zeom noticed them watching him, and climbed out of his speeder.

" 'Kind of' broke down?" Biggs shook his head. "Luke, that thing is wrecked."

"No it's not," Luke said, feeling offended. "I'll get it fixed soon enough."

Biggs shrugged, and let the matter drop as Zeom reached the group.

"Hey," the newcomer said in greeting.

"Hey yourself," the girl retorted good-naturedly. "So, you're Zeom. I hear you're a newcomer to Tatooine."

"That's me," Zeom said. "And might I know the name of the beautiful lady I am talking to?"

Biggs raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in Zeom's tone. Instead of the tough-looking guy they had first known him to be, he was now as smooth as anything. Luke instantly decided he no longer liked the guy. Especially as the girl smiled at him.

"Sciane, Sciane Lightstorm. I'm from around here."

"Sciane," Zeom repeated. "A lovely name to match a lovely face."

Sciane smiled shyly, and Luke glowered at Zeom behind his back.

"What a smoothie," Luke muttered to Biggs, who nodded in agreement.

"I have a feeling Sciane likes him," Biggs said.

"I think you're right," Luke replied gloomily. Biggs glanced at his friend.

"And I have a feeling you don't like the guy."

"I think you're right again."

* * *

_To be continued_


End file.
